Westboro man accused of locking Verizon tech in vault

WESTBORO — The owner of Westboro Self Storage, angry that a Verizon technician parked his truck on grass near the business, sealed the worker in an underground vault, according to police.

Police said the Monday afternoon incident could have ended tragically — the vault becomes airtight and the ventilation system automatically shuts off when the door is closed.

The shaken technician — Michael Hathaway, 45, of Worcester — was freed, and now Howard Cook, 71, of 12 Chestnut St. will be summoned to Westboro District Court to face charges of kidnapping, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle in the daytime, receiving stolen property and larceny under $250.

Messages left for Mr. Cook at his business and at his home were not immediately returned. Mr. Hathaway's wife said today her husband had returned to work and would not have a comment.

The technician called police at 3:27 p.m. Monday to report that he was locked in an underground vault in the grassy area at the corner of Research Drive and Connector Road, next to Westboro Self Storage. The area around the vault is frequented by Canada geese, and is often dotted with goose droppings.

Verizon has a right of way over the grass to access to vault, which services the nearby industrial park, police said.

"Some guy was screaming at me and closed the door on me," Mr. Hathaway said on the 911 call, which was relayed to Westboro police from the state police. "I'm trapped down here. . . I don't know who this guy was. He just started screaming at me. . . I told him I'd be done in a minute."

Police Officer Dean Paine arrived at the vault to find that the hatch door had been shut and that two 10-pound rocks had been placed on top of the door to prevent the technician from opening the hatch.

Officer Paine removed the rocks and released the technician.

"Thank God he had his cell phone with him," Police Chief Alan Gordon said, noting that dispatchers stayed on the line. "This could have been much worse. He could have become seriously dehydrated; he could have died."

Mr. Cook has not been arrested before, but is known to have a temper, the chief said.

Mr. Cook allegedly removed the ladder from the vault and intentionally barricaded the hatch with the two large rocks, the chief said.

Mr. Hathaway gave a description of his assailant to the police, who then located Mr. Cook at the Westboro Self Storage facility. According to police, he admitted to locking the technician in the vault because he was upset that the technician had parked on his grass.

The technician later called police to ask for help in locating his personal keys, which Mr. Cook allegedly took from the Verizon vehicle.

Police called Mr. Cook at home, and Mr. Cook admitted to taking the keys, but initially refused to return them to the Verizon employee. Officer Greg McRae responded to Mr. Cook's home and retrieved the keys.

Phil Santoro, a spokesman for Verizon, said the company would have no comment on the incident.

Contact Donna Boynton at dboynton@telegram.com or follow her on Twitter @DonnaBoyntonTG